Cat-Astrophe!
by FracturedFantasyFox
Summary: This is an old fic I dug up, enjoy! Break takes Oz to a forest that where people disappear. Why? He's bored of course! And the Abyss is suspected. So what happens when they meet a crazy chain who turns them into cats and apparently has a grudge against Break? Why, it's simply a Cat-astrophe! Gil is NOT going to like this. Tell me if rating needs to go up.
1. Everybody Gets to be a Cat!

**A/N: Something I found from a while ago. It's still pretty fun though! Probably not any spoilers unless you're really early in the series. **

**Disclaimer: Wish I owned, but I do not. **

**…**

"Alright Break! Why did you bring me out here?" Oz asks, tired of being pushed along completely blindfolded. All he knew is that he's outside.

"Ne, you'll see," Break says, poking the younger boy's ear.

"Break, please stop, that's just creepy. Can I take this blindfold off yet?"

"Nope!" chuckles Emily.

"Then it wouldn't be a surprise, would it," Break teases.

"Yeah, it's so much of a surprise, even Break doesn't know what it is!" Emily pipes in.

"Wait... so you don't know Break! Then why did you bring me all the way out here?"

"To tease Raven of course!"

"I should have known."

"Anyways, they say a lot of people who pass by here mysteriously disappear. Pandora said to check it out."

"And he got bored and brought you," Emily adds, laughing a bit.

"Break, can I take the blindfold off now?"

"Well, why not!" Break chirps, whipping it off.

Oz takes in his surroundings. They were at the edge of a forest with surprisingly dark wood. A small stone path winds around here and disappears into the tree filled maze. Nothing really seemed all that unusual to him, then again, it's really dark out, so maybe he just can't see it.

"So, people disappear here."

"Don't you listen, hehe!" Emily laughs.

"This is where those stuffy old Pandora officers say it happens, but what do they know. I believe they get stolen between noon and midnight, that's what they say. They think it's a chain we've never met before."

Oz lost attention a few minutes ago though.

"Oy! Brat, are you listening!" Emily asks.

"Hey, it's a cat. It's all black and its eyes are so pretty. Look, they're like blue ice!" Oz says, proudly holding the mentioned cat up.

"Maybe we should take it home and give it to Raven as a present."

"Do you want to come home kitty? I'm sure Gil would love you," Oz says while smirking. He pokes its stomach playfully, then yelps as it bites hard into his hand. The cat then bites Xerxes's ankle and jumps into a tree and watches them, almost seeming to smile.

Suddenly, a wave of dizziness hits the two and their bites itch. It spreads quickly, and no matter how much they scratch it just seems to get worse.

"Break! What is this?"

"I'm not sure, but I think we've found the culprit of our disappearances," Break says. He draws his sword and jumps after the fluffy cat. To his surprise, the small animal dodges it with surprising ease, jumping out of harms reach without breaking a sweat. Its eyes seem to twinkle smugly.

"Um... Break-"

"Not now Baka!" Emily says.

"But Break!"

"Can't talk now!" Break says, narrowly missing the feline foe. To his silent frustration, it almost seemed to be teasing him now, not that it showed at all. The cat retreated to the tree tops, and he followed, finding balancing easy, almost too easy.

"But Break, you have a tail!"

"I kno- wait, what?" he looks behind him and, to his surprise, a furry white tail tickles his nose. He follows it down and finds that it is indeed attached to him. He looks over to Oz, and pauses, eye widening,"Oz, you have one too, and cat ears."

"Hahaha! Imagine the look on Raven's face if his precious Bocchan came back with cat ears and a tail," Emily cackles.

Break touches the top of his head, and feels a fluffy pair of his own ears. And, is that a claw. Yes, yes it is. And paw pads, and fur. Was it just him, or did everything look a little bigger now? He shrugs it off and tries again to slash at the hopping cat. He almost makes it this time, but the sword slips at the last second. He hisses quietly and lands on his feet... all four of them... except they're paws now.

"Oz..."

"Yeah Break?"

"Am I a cat now?"

"Yes. Am I?"

Break looks over to where Oz was, and in the blonde boy's place is a blonde, emerald eyed, half-grown cat. He nods,"Yes, yes you are. This is an interesting mess we've gotten into, isn't it?"

"Hey! Baka! You dropped me!"

"Sorry Emily," he says. He tries to pick the doll up, but quickly figures out he can neither stand on two legs, nor can he pick things up since he now lacks thumbs. His attempts at picking Emily up with his mouth are just about as successful,"Ne, this might be a problem..."

"I think you've got more important things to worry about," a new voice purrs. Both the set of eyes and single eye immediately lock onto the black cat that started this all. To their surprise, his situation seems to be the opposite of theirs. A black haired, ice eyed boy, albeit one with cat ears and a tail, now stands in the cat's place. Before they have a chance to get over their shock, the boy pounces at Break. Break snaps out of it just in time to get out of the way. He stumbles a little, not quite used to maneuvering four feet at once, but the tail rebalances him.

"Are you okay Break!"

"I'm fine! Run Oz!"

"No you don't!" Tom purrs. He pounces on the small cat and catches him by the scruff.

"Oz!"

"Run Break! Go get the others!"

He ignores him and tries to run after the cat-boy, but before he can get used to literally having two left feet, the boy's ears twitch, he hisses, and then jumps inhumanly far, disappearing deep into the forest.

"Dang, he got away. I guess I have no choice but to return like this. Oh well, at least I can have my fun with Raven."


	2. Strange Cats and Missing Masters

**A/N: I decided to upload the next chapter early since I got my first review! Thank you so much Pandora99! I'm very glad you liked it! After this I'll start trying to update weekly until I catch up to what I have prewritten. After that, well, I'm a busy and lazy girl… **

**Disclaimer: if I owned, Pandora Hearts wouldn't be nearly as awesome. **

**…**

Gilbert was resting peacefully in his room, but that didn't last. He woke up to find a white cat with the creepiest expression ever sitting on his chest and watching him. Naturally, his screaming woke everyone up and they all rushed to his room. There was a collective sweatdrop as they saw Gilbert faint and a white, extremely amused looking cat with only one eye. Reim woke up Gil with a cup of water.

"C-Cat... there was a cat. Why was there a cat!"

"We don't know, but it's disappeared now."

"G-Good... cat... Hey, where's Oz!"

"Yeah, where is my manservant!"

Reim looks under the bed, in the cabinet, and in the closet. Sharon eventually bothers to ask,"Reim, what are you doing?"

"I haven't seen Break yet, and this is usually the point he pops in and teases Gilbert."

"Break and Oz are both missing!" Sharon gasps.

"What! That creepy clown made off with my manservant!"

"Oz... Oz is alone with Break... Bocchan no! We have to rescue him!"

"Meow."

"Please tell me that was you Reim," Gil says, stiffening.

"No."

"GYAAAAH! NEKOOOOOO!" he waves his arms around wildly as the cat lands on his head. Reim manages to remove it before Gil passes out. He doesn't get a very good look at it though before it goes into the closet and the door closes behind it. Reim looks inside, but the cat is gone.

"It disappeared."

"Hmm, maybe that's Break's cat," Sharon teases.

"Break has a cat!"

"I was just joking Gil."

"Mm, I want meat," Alive says. She leaves and there's a long pause. Then she screams,"Creepy clown cat!"

"Alice?"

"That cat is creepy! It had a look in its eye like that creepy clown and it was eating a lollipop!"

. . .

Break purrs to himself, tail happily curled. Getting around was harder as a cat, but it was more than worth it to watch Raven panic. Without thumbs, getting his lollipop out of his secret candy stash and getting the wrapper off was even harder. Watching Alice was enough to erase any bad mood from the realization candy was now very hard to get to.

Though, regrettably, Oz was in trouble so he has to put down the lollipop and stop playing around,"Hey, Sharon, Sharon. Listen, Oz got kidnapped so we have to go and save him now. Follow me will you?"

"C-Cat."

"It sure is meowing a lot," Sharon says.

_So they can't understand me, this could be a problem_. Break thinks to himself.

"It looks kind of like Break," Reim points out.

_Okay, Reim is catching on some. Try to act like me. _He goes and puts the lollipop back into his mouth and goes to torment Raven more.

"C-C-CAT! KEEP IT AWAY FROM ME! REIM SAVE ME!" Gilbert screams as he cowers behind Reim.

"It's okay Gil, it's mischievous, but I think it likes you!" Sharon says.

"I don't like that cat, it looks like the creepy clown."

A phone rings in the other room. Reim goes to answer it naturally, so Break follows.

"Hello... yes, this is Reim... wait, what... no, he hasn't came back... we can't do that, Oz is missing as well, I'm very sorry... I'll keep my eyes peeled... yes I suppose we could do that... I'll ask Lady Sharon right away... yes, it is worrying, isn't it... I'm sure he'll be fine, Alice would know if something was wrong with him. After all, she is his chain... well yes, but... no I didn't mean... wait... are you saying... yes, I understand, goodbye."

"Hey Reim, what was that about. Was it me and Oz. Can I have another lollipop?" Break asks, half actually asking, and half just trying to get attention.

Reim finally gets back to the room, the cat on his heels and says "What is it kitty, or should I say, Break?"

"What! There's no way that c-c-cat is Break!"

"Break, is that really you?" Sharon asks.

_Score!_ He simply nods at her.

"Hahaha! The creepy clown got turned into a cat!"

"How did this happen?" Sharon asks. She picks him up and pets his head. At first he fluffs up indignantly, but eventually finds himself purring and leaning into the heavenly touch.

"I'll try to answer for him. We got a call from Pandora. Apparently, Break was sent on a mission to try to figure out and stop the disappearances of Blackwood forest. I take it that it didn't end well for him. They have reason to suspect the Abyss is involved somehow."

"But what about Oz!"

"Xerxes, did you take him with you?" Sharon says, suddenly looking scary with a fan in one hand.

Break slowly nods then promptly runs for his life. Unfortunately, he's caught by Reim.

"Reim! Shake him for me!" Gil says bravely from another room.

"Oy! Creepy clown! Where do you get off kidnapping MY manservant!"

"I can't believe you took my Bocchan Break! We have to go rescue him! This is all your fault you know! What if he's hurt, or worse, dead! What if he was taken back to the Abyss! He'll never get out alone! He may have already died there! Break you had better have a way to fix this!"

_You can say that from another room while I'm being held captive, but if I were free, you'd be running for your life Raven_.

"Xerxes-nii, I do believe you've done it this time," Sharon says, whipping her fan of death against her hand.

Xerxes then claws at Reim's hand. He winces back just long enough for the cat to run away. He quickly disappears into the cabinet and down the hall a scream of NEKO! can be heard followed by the quiet scrape of cat claws against wood.

_That was far too close_.

"Break, I know you're here somewhere," Reim calls. His head suddenly appears out of nowhere and soon Break is being held yet again. This is beginning to get annoying he decides. This form is too small and easily picked up!

"Hey, put me down," he says a bit grumpily.

"No need to growl at me. Sigh... if only we could understand what you're saying."

"Ok, we can work that out later, put me down!"

"Break, I can't understand you. I'm sorry."

Xerxes hisses in frustration, then his one eye can't help focusing in one the light reflecting off Reim's glasses. It's so very distracting... He can't help wanting to touch them, so he bats them. The light gleams and flickers in very amusing ways, so he does it again.

"Xerxes, what are you doing? Stop it, those are my glasses. I need those."

Break hears, but these glasses are far too distracting to listen. He accidentally bats them off, but Reim catches them. Break tries to go back to his play, but is held away from them. He meows his displeasure, trying to get back to them, but his cat limbs are too short.

"Break! What's gotten into you! You're acting like a real cat now!"

_I am a cat baka... wait, no, I'm supposed to be a human, but that idiot cat made me this way. What the heck was I just doing! I was playing with his glasses like an idiot!_

"Sigh, we need to fix this," Reim says worriedly.

There's a loud slam from somewhere near the entryway and a happy scream of,"GILBERT! I know you're here brother! It's been too long since I saw you last!"

_Great, now that filthy sewer rat is here too. And I think my fur is standing up. Yup, it is_.

"I know you don't like Vincent, I'll try to keep you two apart."

_If I weren't trapped in this form, I'd do unspeakable things to him_.

"Hi Vince."

"Gil! It's been so long since I've seen you!"

That voice is too high, Break decides. It was just annoying before, but with sharper cat ears it's akin to torture. Well, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but it's still bad. He manages to wriggle out of Reim's hold, disappear around a corner, and arrive via floor board in the room Vincent is hugging Gil half to death. There's a noticeable look of mischief in his eye as he meows loudly.

"NEKO!"

"Don't worry, I'll protect you brother!"

"He's not the one who needs protecting you sewer rat!" Break hisses. He then walks over and bites Vincent's ankle as hard as he can.

"Ow! Why you little!" Vincent picks up the cat and a pair of scissors appear in his hand from seemingly nowhere,"I see you've only got one eye, want me to take the other?"

Break bites and claws at the blonde's hand, but nothing quite happens except a little blood loss. He immediately knows he messed up.

"Vincent no!" Sharon says, running down the hall.

"That's Break!" Reim adds.

"Neh? Hahaha! Break turned into a kitty! How did this happen?"

"W-Well, Pandora sent him on a mission, and the baka brought my Bocchan, and when he came back, he was a c-c-c-cat and Oz was missing!"

"Bad Break, making my brother upset like this!" he scolds, then he shakes Break around.

"V-V-V... stop! Ungh... I don't... hiss... feel good. Stop it..." Break growls/pleads. Vincent throws him across the room and that's his stomach can take,"I think... I'm sick..." he begins coughing. The others look at him with concern and, in Alice (who just came in) and Vincent's case, amusement as he hacks harder. Eventually a white hairball comes up. Break stares at it concern, intrigue, and disgust before walking away. Let the others take care of it, he has no thumbs now and it was in his mouth once, he's not doing it again.

"Xerxes... you've only been a cat for less than a day, how did you even make that!" Reim asks.

"Well, Raven was asleep for a while, and my fur was a mess. I figured out quickly enough that there was no possible way I could use a brush on myself, so I had to resort to more... natural... methods."

"I'd love to hear the excuse for this, but either way, I guess I'm stuck cleaning your mess up like always."

"Speaking of messes, how are we going to get my Bocchan back!"

"Come on, we can look for him tomorrow, spend time with me today brother!"

"I'm afraid we probably have to do it today before Break the cat causes more trouble, Gil breaks down, or Oz gets... something-ed. He has a tendency to get into the strangest situations, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, we need to get my manservant back!"

"I hate to... to think of this... but what if... we follow c-c-cat Break to where he... he... he lost Oz!"

"Gil, that's a good idea actually!" Reim says.

"I guess it's not bad seaweed head."

"Hey, you know what I've never noticed before, Sharon's hair looks really nice. I want to touch it," Break says, almost seeming hypnotized. He pads over and sniffs it, purring a bit. Soon, he's on his back batting at it and mewing and purring.

"Aw, does kitty Break like my hair?"

"Hmm, this may be a problem. Earlier Break couldn't seem to stop playing with my glasses. Since he got a hairball, he apparently... groomed, himself like a cat. I think his instincts and possibly mind are becoming cat like, Break, what are you doing now?"

Break had moved on from Sharon's hair to sneaking up behind Gilbert. Well, he had been, but Reim ruined it. Though this time, his cat instincts weren't as much to blame as just wanting to mess with Raven.

"S-So, can you lead us to Oz?"

"Yeah, follow me~ow!" he says, pulling a pre-opened lollipop out of a small hole in the wall and beckons them with his tail. He exits through the window and waits for the others to take the door.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"Come on already slow pokes."

"We're coming."

"Why is it always us? This stuff always seems up happen to us, never the rest of Pandora," Reim says under his breath.

They could all already tell this was going to be an interesting trip.


	3. Meanwhile with Oz…

**A/N: And now we shall catch up with Oz the kittynapped kid! Does that make Tom a catburgler? XD sorry I'm late. Busy+lazy=slow updates. Really sorry guys…**

**Disclaimer: I own Tom, Brook, the plot, and Blackwood, but nothing else. **

* * *

"Where are you taking me? Let me go!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that kitty. I wasn't able to catch Break, but you're obviously his friend, so he'll have to come looking for you. Don't worry, I won't hurt you, you're my special guest ~nya!"

"Why'd you turn me into a cat anyways?"

"It's what I do ~meow."

"Why?"

"Because I love kitties! They're better than humans. Humans made all that junk in the air, they messed up the Abyss, and they're the ones who keep messing up everything. Cats are elegant and glossy and keep mice and other nasty rodents and vermin under control. They're also so pretty too and wonderfully independent and fluffy and if they like you, friendly. ~Purr."

"You really like cats."

"I'm a cat chain, it'd be bad if I didn't. Hey, what's your name anyways?"

"I'm Oz, who are you?"

"I'm Tom. You were kinda cute as a kid, but you're adorable as a kitty!"

"Well, as far as cats go, you were a very handsome cat."

"Aw, I'm flattered."

Oz purrs a bit. Tom was moving around very smoothly despite the fact that he was jumping across the tree tops. He's comfortably dangling from Tom's hand and after a minute or two realized just how weird that conversation was. How does he keep getting himself into these situations?

"You know, you're pretty cool for a human."

"And you're pretty nice for a chain."

"Thank you! I don't get a lot of compliments. I mostly get yelled at for turning them into cats. I don't see what's so bad about it, I love my cat form. My neko form is also nice though."

Getting basically kidnapped by a half-mad contractor, being led to the scene of several disappearances in the middle of the night, getting turned into a cat by a crazy chain, yep, just another ordinary day for Oz Vessalius.

"Hey..." Oz says, a bit awestruck.

"Yeah?"

"Your tail moves."

"Yes, yes it does."

"Can I touch it?"

"Oh why not," Tom purrs.

Oz paws at it once,"It's soft!"

"Yes, I'm not exactly a shorthair. I'm very fluffy, no?"

Oz bats at it again, purring.

"Does kitty Oz want to play with my tail? How precious," he says. He waves his tail around and smiles as the blonde cat keeps trying to get it.

"This is fun! ~Purr."

"Trust me I know. Hold on now kitty, I need to get home before midnight hits," he says. He holds onto the cat and once again gives an inhuman leap."

"This is fun too! You're good at jumping."

"Aw, thanks. ~Purr. Agility is my thing really."

"Hey, is that a mansion?"

"It's mine. One more jump should get us there."

"Woooooah!" Oz yells as the two spin in the air.

"Sorry, got excited," he says as they land.

"Is it just me... or does this place feel kind of... creepy?" Oz hisses, wriggling a bit.

"It's a bit of Abyss power. Time doesn't pass the same here as the rest of the world. Actually, the same goes for the entire forest, but it's concentrated here."

"Tom! You're back. Another kitty, do you have enough cats yet?" says a teasing voice. A cat with brown hair and forest green eyes says.

"Nya, hi Brook. This is Oz, I think he knows that mouse brain Xerxes, or should I say Kevin. I'm guess Break will have to come get him, and then I'll get him," Tom purrs evilly.

"Nice to see you're moving on with your life," Brook says with even greater sarcasm.

"You know, I know this person named Gil, knowing him, he'd have fainted by now, he's deathly afraid of cats."

"Afraid of cats, hmm. I might have to go visit him one day."

"Bring me too!" the brown and blonde cats say in sync.

"Chalk delivery!" says a random, chalk dust covered cat. Chalk then comes raining down on Brook off the roof.

"TOM! OOWW! WHAT THE HECK."

"I got bored ~nya. I'm still bored actually. I don't waaaaanna wait for Break."

"Tom you are the most impatient anything I have ever met."

"Brook, or Oz, let me chase you around until I get tired!"

"Oh for Pete- you said this Gil person is scared of cats right? Why don't you go scare him if you're that desperate for something to do? Go on Tom. Go play, go on, go," Brook says teasingly.

"You know, he's also very protective of me. I know it's mean, but wouldn't it be funny to see how he would react to his precious Bocchan being a cat?"

"Oz," Tom starts, seeming somewhere between creeped out and stoic. He quickly ruins that with a badly concealed snicker. He gives up his facade and his eyes brighten as he scoops Oz up and spins him around enthusiastically,"you're an evil genius! A genius! I love it! You're gonna have to step it up Brook, Oz may beat you in evil ideas."

"No one beats me in evil ideas. No one. Beat this, once he finds his precious Oz, give it enough time to sink in, then catnap him!"

"Purrfect! Two evil geniuses, I pick good friends."

The three purr extremely amused since cats can't laugh.

"You're taking this well Oz," Brook points out.

"My life is insane, leave it at that."

"Ah, I know the feeling ~nya," Tom says,"It's my favorite way to live. Normal is far to bo~ring!"

"You can say that again," Oz purrs.

"Ok, it's my fav-"

"It's an expression silly Tom!" Brook teases.

_Brook always sounds like he's teasing, I guess it's just his voice._

"So, should we take a catnap, show Oz around, or go terrorize Gil first?" Tom asks, a bit too excited.

"Oz, you wanna scare your friend or see the mansion that would probably be his worst nightmare first?" Brook asks.

"I'm curious about the mansion, but I kinda want to see how Gil is taking it. Plus, knowing him, he probably thinks I'm dead or I've been banished to the Abyss again or something."

"Again ~Nya?"

"Long story."

"Well, we've got plenty here, so why not. Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought him back!"

Oz then explains the whole Abyss story.

"Alright..." Brook says.

"You contracted with B-Rabbit! Oz is awesome!"

"Hey! What about me?"

"You're awesome too, but Oz's awesomeness is still really new."

"And mine has gotten worn out?"

"No, I'm just saying-"

"Save it. So, what do the Baskervilles have against you anyways?"

"~Hiss! You cut me off!"

"How did you know it was them?"

"I've heard plenty from some of Tom's infamous rants."

"I do not rant, I just say a lot of stuff in a row without stopping in an angry and/or upset tone."

"That's called ranting."

Oz purrs in amusement as the two have a playful argument, the kind only best friends can really have. There's an undertone of amusement beneath Tom's pouting and Brook's taunting comebacks. Eventually Tom runs out of ways to reword things that he obviously does and won't deny, but he's too prideful to admit doing. Brook purrs his victory and Tom eventually stops pouting and purrs with him.

"It's a good thing you're used to craziness, you'll find a lot of it here," Brook says.

"You guys are fun. You're probably the friendliest chain I've ever met Tom. ~Purr."

"Yeah, a lot of them just like to eat people. I'll never understand why, I can't imagine they taste good. I prefer making cats. Cats are nice," he purrs.

"Hey Tom, are we gonna go tease Gil?" Oz asks.

"Give it a minute, time here has been running slow. It should catch up soon enough though. 3,2,1 ~Nya."

"Did it change?"

"Yeah, Tom is the only one who can tell when it changes as well as the only one who can tell whether time is fast, slow, or on time."

"Oh."

"So Oz, wanna go scare your friend half to death now?"

"Why not, at least he'll know I'm safe enough and in the same dimension, plus it'll be funny!"

"Let's go then! Brook, you watch this place, bye!" Tom says. He hurriedly picks up Oz and starts running.

"You're not leaving me!" Brook says. He jumps and catches a ride on Tom's back.

"You know I wouldn't leave you."

"I know."

. . .

Gil wasn't exactly sure how it happened, but one minute he was following Break and the next he was completely lost and alone. Okay, maybe he did know. Break had gotten interested in his pants and you can imagine how the rest went.

Now he's wandering through a forest with what has to be the darkest wood ever. There's no telling what time it is, but it's afternoon.

Something furry brushes against his ankle. He immediately stiffens.

"Please don't be another cat..."

Luck is not on his side today,"NEKO! STAY AWAY!"

He tries to run away from it, but it manages to get a hold on his chest. He wavers a bit and collapses. The cat nuzzles at his face and he faints, for about two seconds. It pokes him back into consciousness.

"Cat. C-C-Cat... STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

It meows several times at him and purrs, a bit of mischief in its eyes, its _emerald _eyes. And it has blonde fur...

"O-Oz?"

It purrs at him and nuzzles his neck. Gil stiffens. _It's a cat, but it's Oz. Oz is a cat. My _Oz_ is a _cat_! Horrible claws, sharp teeth, but he'd never hurt me, right? Right?_

"Oz, that is y-you, right?"

It nods.

That's all Gil can take,"OZ! First Break torments me as a cat, then I find out you're lost, I thought you were dead Oz! Then I lose everyone else, and now you're a c-cat! Why! Why me! Oz! O-O-Oz!"

"Meow, meow."

"I can't understand you Oz!" he sobs. He stiffens, but also settles to sniffling as Oz's paw dabs away the tears.

. . .

Oz sits on Gil's chest, feeling kinda bad,"Are you okay Gil? Please stop crying. I'm fine, see? Look at it this way, at least Tom didn't get you! Though, I guess if he did, you'd be able to understand me, wouldn't you? My poor little Gil, you really don't change, do you?"

"Oz, my poor Oz."

"I'm fine Gilbert! You're the one having a breakdown!"

"Hey Oz, is he always like that?" Tom, somewhat amused, asks from the shadows. He's very good at not being seen since he blends in with the wood and shadows, except his eyes.

"Not always, he just had a breakdown."

"Nya, do you want to talk to him?"

"You'd better not turn him into a cat."

"Just the ears would do."

"Tom! He'd freak out even more."

"That'd be hilarious!"

"Tom, listen to Oz would you? He's already scared enough!"

"I don't have to listen to either one of you! I'm Tom, the Prince of Cats! I can do whatever I like!"

"Hey, um, k-kitty Oz... do you- you know... hear something?" Gil asks nervously. He's entirely stiff and still obviously in a little inner turmoil about his precious master being a cat,"Why'd it have to happen to you!"

"It's ok! I won't hurt you Gil! My poor Gil, you worry too much."

"OOOOZ!"

"Gilbert! I found you! I was so worried when you disappeared brother!"

"You brought Vincent Gil. I know he loves you, but I'd never noticed his voice is so ridiculously high. It makes my head hurt."

"I second that," Tom growls.

"Third," hisses the forgotten Brook.

"Vincent! How did you find me?"

"I heard you screaming! Did the mean old cats find you again? Don't worry, I'll protect you!" Vincent says. He grabs up the cat and the scissors appear again.

"Wait! Vince don-"

"Put Oz down you rat!" Tom screeches as he bursts out of the shadows and lands on Vincent, pinning him down.

"GIANT CAT! GET AWAY FROM ME!"

It was true, Tom had turned into a monstrous cat the same size as his neko form. He was now growling above Vincent, eyes lit up dangerously.

"Ah! Get off of me! Gil, Gilbert!"

"Tom! Get off of Vincent! He's a creep, but he was just trying to protect his brother."

"Tom listen to him! Don't make a big deal out of this, he's just an overprotective creep!"

"He tried to hurt Oz!"

"It was a mistake! Get off of him!"

The scene was somewhere between terrifying and amusing as Vincent tries to squirm out of the infuriated cat chain's grip, two not quite grown cats try in vain to drag the big one off, and Gil panics a few feet away from everything else.

Eventually the two small cats manage to persuade the big one to get off Vincent, albeit reluctantly. Tom flips backwards and changes into his neko form, picking up Brook and Oz on the way.

"~Nya, Gil, right? I know you know that rat Break, so I'll make you a deal. You get your master back, human if you purr~fer, when I get Break. Bye-Bye, Nya! Oh, and I like your hair, it's soft."

And with that, Tom is gone and Gil is sad. Then immediately creeped out as he realizes,"Hey, how did you know my hair is soft!?"


End file.
